Scholé Sisters: Camaraderie for Classical Homeschooling Mamas

Today’s show is all about thankfulness and Brandy is extremely thankful for Mystie. You see, we had recorded a different episode, but the recording had technical difficulties, and we weren’t able to use it. Mystie was willing to do a special recording, and we are all THANKFUL for her and that she was willing to do this so last minute! In this episode, Mystie and Brandy first discuss the philosophy of thankfulness and the connections between gratitude and scholé. After that, they talk about all the long list of people and curricula and organizations that make us happily and gratefully classical. Don't forget to join our FORUM. Did you know? In the Forum there are episode bonuses (we call it the Cutting Room Floor -- it's stuff we cut out) and also back issues of our newsletter. Plus a community of awesome moms just like YOU. Go to http://www.scholesisters.com/join to become a part of it all.

Brandy's guest today is the one and only Wes Callihan and she is thrilled! If you can believe it, she got through the entire interview without acting like a total fan girl. Wes and Brandy discuss why some children (the hypothetical Boy A and Girl B) are resistant to pagan literature and what to do about it. Two types of resistant prove we need two types of responses! We also get to find out what Wes is reading in his free time, and what advice he’d give to parents whose children are signing up for online classes. Don’t forget to find us on Facebook!

On today’s show, Pam and Brandy discuss learning styles and the fact that there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to back them up. (Obviously, Pam is trying to get us into trouble.) But REALLY, it was a great discussion, even if somewhat controversial. Also, if you’ve ever wondered how learning styles intersect -- or not -- with the classical tradition, we manage to Go There. In our Nitty Gritty Question, we also confess our regrets and do over desires in regard to early childhood education in our homes. Don’t forget about the Scholé Sisters Forum. There are some virtual Scholé Sisters groups forming now, so you don’t want to miss it. Just go to scholesisters.com/join to get more details on that.

Our guest today is Kathy Wickward, former homeschool mom (she's graduated, folks!), one of the founders of CM West, and one of the masterminds behind AmblesideOnline's living science curriculum. On today’s show, Kathy and Brandy discuss leading our children through encounters with viewpoints with which we don’t agree. Is there ever an age not to do this? And how DO we do this? Kathy shares with us her theory of six degrees of separation from a subject, and more! Don't forget to join our forum over at scholesisters.com/join -- we've got virtual Scholé Sisters groups and book groups starting up now!

On today’s show, Mystie and Brandy discuss the ancient Latin motto multum non multa – meaning, much not many. Applied to education, and somehow misapplied to education, we chat about who used the motto in reference to education, what they meant, and what this has to do with Charlotte Mason and The Latin-Centered Curriculum. We also bring up one of the great unmentionables: the dangers of taking a minimalistic approach to life and homeschooling. Don't forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter at scholesisters.com!

Today’s show is our version of the which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg dilemma. In this case, though, it’s which comes first – the principles or the practices. And how do we practice when we know that we don’t know all we NEED to know? We go around and around in circles, drawing on folks like James K.A. Smith, Cindy Rollins, Karen, Glass, and MORE. In the end, we made our peace with the issue, and we hope you can, too. Don't forget you can find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scholé-Sisters-1443844352560693/

Welcome back! We are so excited to have you with us today for our first episode of Season 2! In this episode, Mystie and Brandy explore the relationship between personality types and scholé. Mystie draws a distinction Brandy had never thought about before -- that some types of scholé are restorative, while others bring about more of a stretching and growing -- and different types serve these purposes for different personality types. The bottom line is that if you are in need of some restoration, knowing your personality type and what restores it can be super helpful.   Don't forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter over at scholesisters.com!

In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy use Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics to discuss the connection between habits and virtue, and then proceed to convince ourselves to work on shoring up good habits over the summer to pave the way for a better school year. We also discuss a question on assessment sent to us by Amanda Venema – and a big shout out to Amanda for being the first to leave us a recorded message! So…habits, virtue, summer, assessment – what’s not to like? This is a fun way to wrap up Season 1 of the podcast. Don't forget to go join our new forum at scholesisters.com/join

In today’s episode, Brandy discusses virtual Scholé Sisters groups and technology tools with Amber Vanderpol. What happens when you live in an isolated place? Are you doomed to loneliness? Or are virtual groups a possibility? And, if so, how are they best organized? What technology exists to support them? And how hard is it to learn to use these unfamiliar tools? We talk about all this and more on today’s episode. Also: we've got a major announcement coming up in the next Scholé Sisters newsletter so if you haven't already subscribed, head on over to scholesisters.com to sign up!

In today’s episode, Pam and Brandy have a great conversation with Ravi Jain, co-author of The Liberal Arts Tradition, on the subject of balancing work with wonder. How do both of those fit together? What happens when our students seem to have lost the wonder? What if we seem to have lost the wonder? Ravi had some great thoughts on this. We also discussed piety in our Nitty Gritty Homeschool question – in The Liberal Arts Tradition, we’re told that piety is the foundation of learning. What are some practical ways to nurture and build it? We discuss all these questions and more in today’s episode! Check out our website scholesisters.com for tons of great articles on a variety of topics -- self-education, commonplacing, classical homeschooling, and more!